1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to illumination and, more specifically, to an illuminable attachment for a vacuum hose or wand.
The illuminable attachment for a tube, such as a vacuum wand is comprised of a pair of arms matingly hinged forming a clamp movable from an open position to a wand engaging closed position with releasably engaging locking members. The arms form a housing having a plurality of LEDs, power supply, switch and circuit means therebetween whereby said attachment can be user selectively mounted and illuminated as desired.
The illumination provides the user means to better see while using the vacuum in no light or poorly lit areas such as under furniture, in closets, corners, and other areas that are subject to shadowed or poor lighting.
The lamp is comprised of a series of LEDs that provide good illumination with low power consumption. The power is a DC source generated from a battery or battery pack. In one embodiment, the battery(s) are rechargeable.
A switch affixed to the housing is supplied to enable or disable the LEDs while not in use. The clamp housing provides a quick release member and hinge for easy attachment and/or removal from the vacuum tube.
To accommodate tubes of various diameters, the illuminable attachment of the present invention may include various size rubber gaskets. The inner diameter of the rubber gasket is equal to the diameter of the tube and the outer diameter is equal the clamp diameter. The gaskets may also be fabricated of a firm, compressible material which would provide greater flexibility when dealing with vacuum attachments having non-standard diameters such as English versus metric.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other devices designed for displaying variables. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 2,637,062 issued to Sutton et al on May 5, 1953.
Another patent was issued to Marmo et al. on Dec. 3, 1963 as U.S. Pat. No. 3,112,889. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,447 was issued to Quakenbush on Sep. 17, 1985 and still yet another was issued on Nov. 29, 1988 to Fuller as U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,631.
Another patent was issued to Triplett on Oct. 31, 1989 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,816. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,446 was issued to Haroutunian on Dec. 1, 1992 and still yet another was issued on Oct. 1, 1996 to Capps, III as U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,703.
Another patent was issued to Cassem on Dec. 1, 1998 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,301. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,443 was issued to Redding on Nov. 16, 1999 and still yet another was issued on Aug. 21, 2001 to Matthews et al. as U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,088.
Additionally, a United Kingdom patent was issued to Weiss on Aug. 25, 1921 as Patent No. GB167,989 and an International Patent Application Number WO 03/027566 was published on Apr. 3, 2003 to Gillette